Copper River Tomato Reviews, Photos & Grow Notes

A mid-season semi-determinate variety, a multicolor/tricolor beefsteak. I received the seeds for this variety late, so my sowing was late accordingly. The bush grew outdoors in the open ground. The summer was very rainy and cold, and everyone was terrified of Late Blight. As a result, I had to pick the fruits underripe and ripen them indoors, so they didn’t quite reach their full, rich coloration. But even the counter-ripened fruits turned out to be incredibly sweet, which really surprised me. I will definitely be repeating this variety in 2016.

And here is how mine turned out:

Edited February 3, 2017 by Drosera

Looks very pretty! 🌺

I have my first questions for you:
1) How tall did this semi-determinate get?
2) How many stems did you prune it to?
3) What kind of leaf did it have? Regular or potato?
4) When did you sow the seeds?
5) How many trusses/fruits did it manage to set considering the late sowing?
6) What was the fruit weight?
7) Were the seeds directly from Kraft?

Alisa, I didn’t keep hyper-detailed records for every variety, but here is what I can answer: I don’t remember the leaf type. I grew almost all my outdoor varieties in 2 stems. I sowed the seeds in early April, it set about 4 trusses, the plant height outdoors was 0.7 – 0.8 meters (2.5 ft). The fruits weighed 150-200g (5-7 oz), and yes, the seeds were from Kraft.

Darn it… I swore to myself that I didn’t need any more seeds… 😄

And then boom—I have my very first wish list item for 2016! 😉

Quoting ElenaN:
I sowed the seeds in early April, it set about 4 trusses, the plant height outdoors was 0.7 – 0.8 meters, fruits 150-200g.

That’s actually pretty good for a late sowing. Around here, this variety circulates with both regular and potato leaves (I don’t know which one I got yet). If you happen to grow it again, please pay attention to the leaf type. They say its average weight is 300-450g (10-16 oz), and some specimens reach up to 800g (1.7 lbs). For some growers, after acclimatization, it starts fruiting 65 days after transplanting. It can grow to 1.2m – 1.5m (4-5 ft). Sounds like quite a flexible variety.

Here is how mine turned out.

The taste is 😋👍

Quoting rudik:
Here is how mine turned out. The taste is 😋👍

Could you please tell me what kind of leaf yours had? Regular or potato?

I grew Copper River for a second year. Again outdoors in the open ground, and the taste was—delicious! 👍 The fruits are beautiful and large. I plan to repeat it again next year.

Quoting Alisa:
Could you please tell me what kind of leaf yours had? Regular or potato?

Alisa, mine had a regular leaf, and Oleg most likely had a regular leaf too.

Is it productive?

Quoting Aglaya:
Is it productive?

Olya, it set 2 bottom trusses, with 3-4 large fruits in each. So the total yield was roughly 2.7 – 3.0 kg (6-6.5 lbs). The tops of the plant fried in the heatwave. But I think if grown outdoors under a shade cloth or row cover, this variety would do wonderfully!

It’s very surprising (for me, at least) that even though it’s an “exotic” colored tomato, it is incredibly tasty. That doesn’t happen often for me.

Quoting ElenaN:
Olya, it set 2 bottom trusses… But I think if grown outdoors under a shade cloth, this variety would do wonderfully!

🌺🌺🌺

I grew Copper River in 2016 in a polycarbonate greenhouse. The bush height was 1.60m (5.2 ft). A very tasty variety, the fruits are quite large and beautiful. It didn’t prove to be highly productive for me, but because of its magnificent taste, it is going on my permanent grow list (a keeper)—I will keep trying to tame it. The fruit from the first truss was a rather strange shape; the rest were much more uniform, with stronger coloring typical for this variety.

I have my doubts… Is this the real one or not? 🤷‍♀️ I didn’t quite understand the taste. It grew in the greenhouse; it definitely needs some shading because the leaves and fruits burned in the sun… I will repeat it this year, but from a different seed source… Maybe it’s better suited for the open ground??

I grew Copper River in a polycarbonate greenhouse, I only had 2 plants. The variety drew everyone’s attention, first and foremost, because of the unusual color of the fruits—when fully ripe, they turned a beautiful copper color combined with green and burgundy splashes on top… A true Tomato Beauty Queen!

The plants in the greenhouse were about 1.4m (4.5 ft) tall, with regular foliage. I pruned each plant to 2-3 stems…
It set fruit throughout the entire season. The fruits were all large, up to 300g (10.5 oz) and more, and resistant to cracking, even though the skin is quite thin…
The flesh on the inside is absolutely gorgeous 👍 with bright pink-crimson marbling. It’s very tasty, sweet, and quite dense…

The variety has claimed a permanent spot in my collection and is already planned for planting this coming season!

Edited January 29, 2017 by Yaroslavna

Quoting Nessi:
(Photos of sliced tomatoes)

When you cut it like that, you instantly understand why they named it Copper River 🙂

Very tasty, with a nice sweetness. The slice is just beautiful. Productive, large fruits.

I grew Copper River outdoors. The height reached 1.2m (4 ft), and then I topped it (removed the growing tip). The average weight was 400-500g (14-18 oz); there were no small ones at all, and a few specimens hit 700g (1.5 lbs). I loved this variety across all parameters. I was surprised that despite having a thin skin, it didn’t crack and stored decently well. It looks especially stunning when sliced! It specifically belongs on a platter as slices, not tossed and hidden in a mixed salad. It’s a shame to hide such beauty. 😉

You always need to have at least one bush of this variety growing, especially if you host big summer feasts—it will definitely blow your guests away.

A very tasty variety! I planted it after reading the reviews here, and I don’t regret it at all! A short indeterminate, grew in the greenhouse in 2 stems, regular leaf, fruits up to 400g (14 oz), incredibly beautiful when sliced. The taste is amazing, truly for gourmets, very harmonious with a nice sweetness. It reminds me a bit of the variety First Mate.

Edited December 29, 2018 by Svetikk

On 12/29/2018 at 13:27, Stepanych said:
especially if you host big summer feasts—it will definitely blow your guests away

I completely agree! Tasty, uncommonly beautiful. My yield was a bit low because the main leader thinned out too much (my own user error).

A wonderful little tomato. I’ve been growing it for 2 seasons in a row now.

It turned out unproductive for me; it seemed to stop growing really quickly and started to wilt. But the 5 fruits that did manage to grow and ripen were flawless—all large, perfectly shaped, beautifully colored, and absolutely delicious. I will definitely repeat it.

On 12/29/2018 at 14:46, Svetikk said:
A very tasty variety! A short indeterminate, grew in the greenhouse in 2 stems, regular leaf, fruits up to 400g. The taste is amazing, truly for gourmets, very harmonious with a nice sweetness.

I agree completely! Lyudmila @Aleksan9ra, thank you for the seeds!

It grew on the edge bed right next to the peppers (so it received extra compost and fertilizer along with them)—and it fruited heavily right up until the end of the season.

Here is the first fruit (the color is actually much darker in person).

I grew it last year or the year before in the greenhouse. The plant is not tall, about 1m (3 ft). The fruits are very large, especially the first one, with bizarre coloring and amazing taste. But it wasn’t productive for me, only 3-4 tomatoes total.

However, I definitely need to try repeating it outdoors in the open ground.

I grew it in 2019 in the greenhouse (source: ecosemena). I really liked the variety; the fruits were large, and it was almost the earliest one to ripen. Now, for 2020, I planned to plant it outdoors since it proved to be so early. Unfortunately, we ate them all before I could take a picture of a sliced one.